Historically, the rat has been considered a scourge to mankind, for example, rats infected with the plague bacillus that caused the Black Death, which accounted for millions of deaths in Europe during the Middle Ages. At least three pandemics (in the 5th and 6th, 8th through 14th, and 19th through 21st centuries) of plague ravaged civilizations, and the disease undoubtedly plagued humankind prior to recorded history. Also, numerous other diseases are spread to humans by rats; thus, a quote from Hans Zinsser’s text Rats, Lice, and History, “Man and rat will always be pitted against each other as implacable enemies,” conveys the general revulsion that society holds for the wild rat.

Historically, the rat has been considered a scourge to mankind, for example, rats infected with the plague bacillus that caused the Black Death, which accounted for millions of deaths in Europe during the Middle Ages. At least three pandemics (in the 5th and 6th, 8th through 14th, and 19th through 21st centuries) of plague ravaged civilizations, and the disease undoubtedly plagued humankind prior to recorded history. Also, numerous other diseases are spread to humans by rats; thus, a quote from Hans Zinsser’s text Rats, Lice, and History, “Man and rat will always be pitted against each other as implacable enemies,” conveys the general revulsion that society holds for the wild rat.

Infected finger of a child with monkeypox (Marshfield, WI, index case). The patient was bitten by a prairie dog on 27 May 2003; the primary inoculation site was the right index finger. The photo was taken 14 days after the prairie dog bite (11 days after the onset of febrile illness [hospital day 5]). (Courtesy of Kurt Reed, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, WI.)

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FIGURE 1

Infected finger of a child with monkeypox (Marshfield, WI, index case). The patient was bitten by a prairie dog on 27 May 2003; the primary inoculation site was the right index finger. The photo was taken 14 days after the prairie dog bite (11 days after the onset of febrile illness [hospital day 5]). (Courtesy of Kurt Reed, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, WI.)